How to awaken a child's interest in scientific knowledge - for example, in chemistry? It's worth trying a practical approach. The theory is dry and easily forgotten, but knowledge confirmed by a successfully conducted experiment will remain in the mind for a long time.
As a result of a series of experiments called “Adhesives,” parents and their children can create an adhesive stick, learning a lot about the chemical properties of familiar substances along the way. There are no spectacular explosions or sparks, but the experiments are scientifically based and can be easily carried out at home.
Experiment 1
We will need: water, sugar, soda, salt, corn starch, paper.
The experiment will help you understand how glue is made and what exactly gives it such a property as stickiness. To begin, ask the children to remember and think about what foods in your kitchen leave sticky residue? There are powdered ingredients in every kitchen, what happens if you dilute them with water? To find out, you have to try! Mix sugar, baking soda, salt, cornstarch or similar with water. Will these solutions be able to glue a couple of sheets of paper together?
Experiment 2
In a previous experiment, we learned that when starch and water are mixed, a sticky substance is formed. Starch is a natural raw material. How do you know where there is starch and where it is not?
So, this experiment uses two samples: a positive sample containing cornstarch, and a negative sample containing a substance that looks like cornstarch (such as powdered sugar).
Before starting the experiment, encourage children to think about what foods might contain starch. They can test their guesses using the determination method below.
Necessary materials:
- Lugol's solution (iodine solution/potassium iodide solution).
- Disposable pipettes.
- Laboratory test tubes or small glass containers in which you can mix the test substances with Lugol's solution (kitchen utensils, such as shot glasses, are also quite suitable).
- Cornstarch and powdered sugar for control samples.
- Food products containing starch, such as potatoes, pre-soaked wheat grains, corn flour.
- Foods that do not contain starch, such as cucumbers.
Use a spatula to place a small amount of cornstarch into the test tube. Add 2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) water and shake the tube gently. Then add 4 drops of Lugol's solution to the test tube. What happened? In samples containing starch, the solution will take on a characteristic blue color.
Is there starch in your glue stick? Now you can check it out for yourself.
It's time to find out what foods contain starch. Have your child complete the following table:
Experiment 3
So, we learned that potatoes have starch, but cucumbers do not. How can we get it out of there now, from potatoes?
A useful starting point may be to observe that water becomes cloudy if starchy foods are placed in it for several hours. This becomes especially noticeable if rice grains are soaked in water. Turbidity means that some substance has transferred from the product into the water. In order to show this to your child, we recommend preparing a sample in advance - for example, soaking rice in a plate of water.
Necessary materials:
- 3-6 potatoes (depending on size).
- 150 g corn flour.
- Old kitchen towels.
- 4 medium sized plastic cups.
- 1-2 graters.
- 2 porcelain plates or heat-resistant crystallizers.
- Beaker.
- Water.
- Select one of the products (3-6 potatoes or 150 g of corn flour), grate it if necessary (in a plastic or metal cup).
- Add 300 ml of water to the crushed food in the cup and stir with a glass rod.
- Cover the second cup with a kitchen towel, pour the mixture onto the towel and squeeze out the water (liquid). Collect the liquid in a cup.
- Place the remaining mixture in the first cup, repeat steps 2 and 3 but only use 200ml water. Wait five minutes and carefully drain the water. Leave a white sediment at the bottom of the cup.
- Transfer the sediment to a plate and place it in the oven at 180°C for 20 minutes. After the drying stage, a dense, whitish substance will remain on the plate: starch.
Experiment 4
In the first experiment, we learned that when starch combines with water, a sticky substance is formed. But this substance is not yet suitable for use as glue. To do this, you need to do a few more steps with the resulting mixture.
First, in this experiment, children will learn that when heated with water, starch turns into a jelly-like, sticky paste. Second, they learn that good glue requires the right consistency.
Ask your child what he thinks should be done with starch to make it more sticky?
Necessary materials:
- Starch obtained in an experiment earlier, or ready-made corn starch (using your own, of course, is much more interesting).
- Stove or oven.
- Thermometer.
To prepare starch paste, mix 1 g (1/4 teaspoon) starch with 5 ml (teaspoon) water and heat at about 80°C until the mixture begins to stick to a stick or spoon. Starch swells when heated. Swelling is caused by the solvent (water) being absorbed by capillarity and then evaporating. Examples from everyday life include making pudding or thick sauces.
So, we have starch paste. Can we start gluing different surfaces with it? Almost!
Experiment 5
Hang in there, we're almost done!
What separates us from the real glue? Let's try the following:
- Place the starch paste on the tip of a spatula in a laboratory test tube, add 5 ml of water, and cap the test tube.
- Shake the tube for approximately 30 seconds.
- Repeat the process with the substance from which the glue stick is made.
Tell me, what was the difference? Have you ever had the feeling that the material from which the glue stick is made foamed up just like soap?
Well, let's try to prepare starch paste, but this time with the addition of soap shavings.
Necessary materials:
- Starch obtained during the experiment, or ready-made corn starch.
- A bar of soap, if possible without fragrance.
- 1-2 fireproof glass glasses or pans.
- Stove or oven.
- 1-2 glass rods or spoons for stirring.
- Thermometer.
Grind up about a quarter of a bar of soap using a potato grater.
In a 150 ml glass, thoroughly dissolve 1 g (1/4 teaspoon) of grated soap in 14 ml (teaspoon) water; the result should be soap foam.
Add 4 g (teaspoon) of starch to the soap solution and mix thoroughly using a glass rod.
Heat the mixture on the hotplate to 80°C, stirring occasionally with a glass rod.
What did you get? Is it possible to somehow change the properties of the resulting mass?
Repeat steps two through four using 2g (1/2 teaspoon), 3g (3/4 teaspoon) and 4g (teaspoon) soap.
By varying the amount of soap, you can prepare glue of absolutely any consistency.
So we just made a real glue stick. Little experimenters will be able to carry out the rest of their experiments in free classes at the Henkel World of Explorers. You can find out about the place and time of classes, as well as register your child for them, on the program website.
Discussion
My 8-year-old daughter and I conducted the “lava lamp” experiment, and there was so much excitement that words can’t express it. Children are open and love to learn new things.
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In high school, people start studying chemistry no earlier than the 8th grade; children perceive this science as too difficult. But you can prepare a student for the subject in a very simple and non-boring way - by organizing a chemistry experiment at home. Such mini-experiments will help you look at science from a different perspective, and showing “chemical tricks” at a children’s party will significantly increase the degree of fun.
Fireproof banknote
To perform an incredibly impressive but simple trick, you will need:
- bill;
- aqueous-alcohol solution with an alcohol content of about 50%;
- salt;
- tweezers or tweezers.
A pinch of salt must be added to the solution. Next, a bill is placed into the solution using tweezers. For those who are conducting such an experiment in chemistry for the first time, it is better to take a banknote of a lower denomination!
After the money is thoroughly wet, you should pick it up again with tweezers and lightly shake off the excess liquid from the paper. Now you can set it on fire! The fire will pass through the entire bill, but not a single edge will even turn brown. This happens because the alcohol contained in the solution burns. In turn, the water with which the paper is saturated does not have time to evaporate.
Crystal eggs
Growing crystals is one of the popular hobbies that entertaining chemistry offers. Experiments with crystallization are most often carried out on sugar, but sugar crystals no longer surprise anyone. We offer a new and unusual sight - crystals grown on eggs!
Crystal eggs can be obtained using:
- alum (sold in pharmacies);
- PVA glue;
- dyes.
The crystals on the eggs will grow very quickly, in just a day. It is necessary to first wash the shell and dry it thoroughly. After which the eggs are smeared with glue and sprinkled with alum. Now they need to lie down for several hours to dry again.
Next, the dye must be dissolved in two glasses of plain water. You can choose the amount of dye yourself; in this case, only the intensity of the color of the crystals depends on it. The eggs are placed in the dye for a day or a day. The longer the egg sits in the solution, the larger the crystals grow. It is worth taking out the finished crystal eggs carefully - they are quite fragile.
Balloon on a bottle
How can you inflate a balloon without helium without any physical effort? To do this, you can use regular baking soda and vinegar, which are in every mother’s kitchen cupboard. To conduct this experiment in chemistry, you will need:
- balloon;
- bottle;
- 3-4 teaspoons of soda;
- table vinegar.
The soda is poured directly into the ball using a funnel or spoon. After which it is put on a bottle with a small amount of vinegar. As soon as the soda from the balloon begins to spill into the bottle, it begins to swell, as if from helium. This happens because vinegar reacts with baking soda, releasing carbon dioxide. The balloon is inflated thanks to the gas in a few seconds, just catch it!
Multi-colored layers in a bottle
The following chemistry experiment will clearly explain to your child the concept of liquid density. For this you will need:
- a quarter cup of sunflower oil;
- a quarter glass of water, tinted in any bright color;
- a quarter cup of sugar syrup (to make the trick more effective, you should also add coloring to it).
The child can predict in advance what will happen when all these liquids are mixed. He will like the result - the syrup will settle down as the densest one, the water will be located in the middle, and the oil will remain on top. You can experiment with colors and liquids, creating unimaginable compositions. For example, by adding different amounts of sugar to syrup, you can get several liquids of different densities.
Laboratory experiments in chemistry can be anything but boring. These eye-catching yet simple tricks will help encourage your child to study science and will simply provide some entertainment on a rainy day.
It’s slushy and cold outside, you can’t have a good walk anymore, but you need to somehow entertain the children. Maybe do a couple of “science experiments”? And at the same time explain to the child that all substances in the world have different densities: for example, the density of oil is lower than the density of water. What follows from this? They will never mix, and this can be taken advantage of.
Fireworks in a jar
Everything you need for this experiment is already in your kitchen: a jar, water, vegetable oil and food coloring. And everything looks impressive and does not require a lot of time and effort.
- Fill the jar about two-thirds full with warm water.
- Pour 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil into a small bowl and drop food coloring of different colors into it (if you have powdered coloring, make an aqueous solution).
- Mix the oil and dye with a fork to create smaller, multi-colored drops - water and oil will not mix, so there is nothing to be afraid of.
- Carefully pour the oil and paint into the water and watch what happens.
The food coloring will begin to slowly dissolve in the water, forming streaks of color, and then mix to create new colors.
The essence of what is happening is that the oil will always float on the surface, but the paint will sink, it is heavier than the oil. It all looks like little colored explosions - hence the name: fireworks in a jar.
Lava lamp
This experiment uses: a tall bottle, for example, from under water, or a container for bulk substances, vegetable oil, water, food coloring and effervescent tablets: Alka-Seltzer, soluble aspirin, in general those that emit carbon dioxide when in contact with water. The result will be something like a paraffin lamp, which were popular twenty years ago, only without paraffin and heating, but with the same meditative effect.
- You need a lot of oil: fill the bottle a little more than halfway.
- Top up the rest with water and wait until all the water is at the bottom. Now add ten drops of food coloring.
- Break the effervescent tablet into four pieces and drop one piece at a time into the bottle of oil and colored water. Don't overdo it: if too much carbon dioxide is released at once, the bubbles will be smaller and the effect less interesting.
- Watch until you lose interest.
Discussion
Cool experience :) We've already tried it. Have you tried making invisible water? You light a candle and pour vinegar into a jug and add soda. Then you bring the jug to the fire and, as it were, water it. Carbon dioxide will extinguish the flame. It's like invisible water!! My child was very impressed;) By the way, even more experiments using improvised means can be found in Professor Nicolas’s book or on YouTube :) we are already hooked;)
Thanks for the idea, we will also do this today.
It turns out beautifully!
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Parents of little fidgets can surprise them with experiments that can be carried out at home. Light, but at the same time surprising and delightful, they can not only diversify a child’s leisure time, but also allow them to look at familiar things with completely different eyes. And discover their properties, functions, purpose.
Young naturalists
Ideal for children under 10, experiments at home are the best way to help your child gain hands-on experience that will help them in the future.
Safety precautions when conducting experiments
To ensure that educational experiments are not overshadowed by troubles and injuries, it is enough to remember a few simple but important rules.
Safety comes first - Before you start working with chemicals, the work surface must be protected by covering it with film or paper. This will save parents from unnecessary cleaning and will preserve the appearance and functionality of the furniture.
- During work, you do not need to get too close to the reagents, bending over them. Especially if your plans include chemical experiments for young children that involve unsafe substances. The measure will protect the mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes from irritation and burns.
- If possible, you should use protective equipment: gloves, glasses. They must be suitable in size for the child and not interfere with him during the experiment.
Simple experiments for little ones
Developmental experiences and experiments for very young children (or for children under 10 years old) are usually simple and do not require parents to have any special skills or rare or expensive equipment. But the joy of discovery and miracle, which is so easy to do with your own hands, will remain with him for a long time.
For example, children will be indescribably delighted by a real seven-color rainbow, which they can create themselves with the help of an ordinary mirror, a container of water and a sheet of white paper.
Rainbow in a Bottle Experience To begin with, place a mirror at the bottom of a small basin or bathtub. Then, it is filled with water; and the light of the lantern is directed onto the mirror. After the light is reflected and passes through the water, it is decomposed into its component colors, becoming the same rainbow that can be seen on a sheet of white paper.
Another very simple and beautiful experiment can be carried out using ordinary water, wire and salt.
To begin the experiment, you need to prepare a supersaturated salt solution. Calculating the required concentration of a substance is quite simple: with the required amount of salt in water, it stops dissolving when the next portion is added. It is very good to use warm distilled water for this purpose. To make the experiment more successful, the finished solution can also be poured into another container - this will remove dirt and make it cleaner.
Experience "Salt on a Wire" When everything is ready, a small piece of copper wire with a loop at the end is lowered into the solution. The container itself is removed to a warm place and left there for a certain time. As the solution begins to cool, the solubility of the salt will decrease and it will begin to settle on the wire in the form of beautiful crystals. You will be able to notice the first results within a few days. By the way, you can use not only ordinary, straight wire in the experiment: by twisting fancy figures from it, you can grow crystals of very different sizes and shapes. By the way, this experiment will give your child a great idea for New Year's toys in the form of real ice snowflakes - you just need to find a flexible wire and form a beautiful symmetrical snowflake out of it.
Invisible ink can also make a lasting impression on a child. It’s very simple to prepare them: just take a cup of water, matches, cotton wool, half a lemon. And a sheet on which you can write text.
Invisible ink can be purchased ready-made First, mix equal amounts of lemon juice and water in a cup. Then, a little cotton wool is wrapped around a toothpick or a thin match. The resulting “pencil” is dipped into the mixture in the resulting liquid; Then they can write any text on a piece of paper.
Even though the words on paper will be completely invisible at first, it will be very easy to manifest them. To do this, a sheet of already dried ink needs to be brought to the lamp. The written words will immediately appear on a heated sheet of paper.
Which child doesn't love balloons?
It turns out that you can even inflate an ordinary balloon in a very original way. To do this, dissolve one spoon of baking soda in a bottle of water. And in another cup, mix the juice of one lemon and three tablespoons of vinegar. Afterwards, the contents of the cup are introduced into the bottle (for convenience, you can use a small funnel). The ball must be placed on the neck of the bottle as quickly as possible until the chemical reaction is completed. During this time, carbon dioxide will be able to quickly inflate the balloon under pressure. To prevent the ball from jumping off the neck of the bottle, it can be secured with electrical tape or tape.
"Inflate the balloon" experiment Colored milk looks very interesting and unusual, the colors of which will move, intricately mixing with each other. For this experiment, you need to pour some whole milk into a plate and add a few drops of food coloring to it. Individual areas of the liquid will turn different colors, but the spots will remain motionless. How to set them in motion? Very simple. It is enough to take a small cotton swab and, after dipping it in detergent, bring it to the surface of the colored milk. By reacting with the milk fat molecules, the detergent molecules will cause it to move.
Experience “Drawings on milk” Important! Skim milk is not suitable for this experiment. Only whole ones can be used!
Surely all children have had the opportunity to observe funny air bubbles in mineral or sweet water at home and on the street. But are they strong enough to lift a grain of corn or raisin to the surface? It turns out yes! To check this, just pour any sparkling water into a bottle, and then throw some corn or raisins into it. The child will see for himself how easily, under the influence of air bubbles, both corn and raisins will begin to rise up, and then, having reached the surface of the liquid, fall down again.
Experiments for older children
Older children (from 10 years old) can be offered more complex chemical experiments that require more components. These experiments are a little more difficult for older children, but children can already take part in them.
To comply with safety precautions, children under 10 years of age should conduct experiments under the strict supervision of adults, mainly as a spectator. Children over 10 years old can take a more active part in the experiments.
An example of such an experiment would be the creation of a lava lamp. Surely many children dream of such a miracle. But it’s much more pleasant to make it yourself, using simple components that are probably found in every home.
Lava Lamp Experience The basis of the lava lamp will be a small jar or an ordinary glass. In addition, for the experiment you will need vegetable oil, water, salt and a little food coloring.
The jar or other container used as the base of the lamp is filled two-thirds with water and one-third with oil. Since oil is much lighter in weight than water, it will remain on its surface without mixing with it. Then, a little food coloring is added to the jar - this will give the lava lamp color and make the experiment more beautiful and spectacular. And after that, add a teaspoon of salt to the resulting mixture. For what? Salt causes the oil to sink to the bottom in the form of bubbles, and then, dissolving, pushes them up.
The following chemical experiment will help make a school subject like geography exciting and interesting.
Making a volcano with your own hands After all, studying volcanoes is much more interesting when there is not just a dry book text nearby, but a whole model! Especially if you can easily do it at home with your own hands, using available means at hand: sand, food coloring, soda, vinegar and a bottle are perfect.
To begin with, a bottle is placed on a tray - it will become the basis of the future volcano. Around it you need to mold a small cone of sand, clay or plasticine - this way the mountain will take on a more complete and believable appearance. Now you need to cause a volcanic eruption: a little warm water is poured into the bottle, then a little soda and food coloring (red or orange). The finishing touch will be a quarter glass of vinegar. Having reacted with soda, the vinegar will begin to actively push the contents of the bottle out. This explains the interesting effect of the eruption, which can be observed with the child.
A volcano can be made from toothpaste Can paper burn without being burned?
It turns out yes. And an experiment with fireproof money will easily prove this. To do this, a ten-ruble banknote is immersed in a 50% alcohol solution (water is mixed with alcohol in a 1 to 1 ratio, a pinch of salt is added to it). After the bill is properly soaked, excess liquid is removed from it, and the bill itself is set on fire. Once it flares up, it will begin to burn, but will not burn out at all. This experience is quite simple to explain. The temperature at which alcohol burns is not high enough to evaporate the water. Thanks to this, even after the substance burns out completely, the money will remain slightly damp, but absolutely intact.
Experiments with ice are always a success Young nature lovers can be encouraged to germinate seeds at home without using soil. How it's done?
A little cotton wool is placed in the eggshell; it is actively moistened with water, and then some seeds (for example, alfalfa) are placed in it. In just a few days you will be able to notice the first shoots. Thus, soil is not always needed for seed germination - only water is enough.
And the next experiment, which is easy to do at home for children, will certainly appeal to girls. After all, who doesn’t like flowers?
A painted flower can be given to your mother Especially the most unusual, bright colors! Thanks to a simple experiment, right in front of amazed children, simple and familiar flowers can turn into the most unexpected color. Moreover, this is extremely simple to do: just put the cut flower in water with food coloring added to it. Climbing up the stem to the petals, chemical dyes will color them in the colors you want. To better absorb water, it is better to make a cut diagonally - this way it will have the maximum area. In order for the color to appear brighter, it is advisable to use light or white flowers. An even more interesting and fantastic effect will be obtained if, before starting the experiment, the stem is split into several parts and each of them is immersed in its own glass of colored water.
The petals will turn into all colors at once in the most unexpected and bizarre way. That we will undoubtedly make a lasting impression on the child!
Experience "Colored foam" Everyone knows that under the influence of gravity, water can only flow downwards. But is it possible to make it rise up the napkin? To conduct this experiment, an ordinary glass is filled about a third with water. The napkin is folded several times to form a narrow rectangle. After this, the napkin unfolds again; Having stepped back a little from the bottom edge, you need to draw a line of colored dots of a sufficiently large diameter on it. The napkin is immersed in water so that about one and a half centimeters of its colored part is in it. Having come into contact with the napkin, the water will begin to gradually rise upward, coloring it with multi-colored stripes. This unusual effect occurs due to the fact that, having a porous structure, the fibers of the napkin easily allow water to pass upward.
Experiment with water and napkin To carry out the following experiment, you will need a small blotter, cookie cutters of different shapes, some gelatin, a transparent bag, a glass and water.
Gelatin water does not mix Gelatin dissolves in a quarter glass of water; it should swell and increase in volume. Then, the substance is dissolved in a water bath and brought to approximately 50 degrees. The resulting liquid should be distributed in a thin layer over a plastic bag. Using gelatin cookie cutters, shapes of various shapes are cut out. After this, you need to lay them on a blotter or napkin, and then breathe on them. Warm breath will cause the gelatin to increase in volume, causing the figures to begin to bend on one side.
Experiments conducted at home with children are very easy to diversify.
Gelatin figures from molds In winter, you can try to slightly modify the experiment by taking the gelatin figures out onto the balcony or leaving them in the freezer for a while. When the gelatin hardens under the influence of cold, patterns of ice crystals will clearly appear on it.
Conclusion
Description of other experiments Delight and a sea of positive emotions are what experimenting with adults will bring to curious children. And parents will allow themselves to share the joy of their first discoveries with young researchers. After all, no matter how old a person is, the opportunity to return to childhood at least for a short time is truly priceless.
Such a complex but interesting science as chemistry always causes an ambiguous reaction among schoolchildren. The children are interested in experiments that result in the production of substances of bright colors, the release of gases, or precipitation. But only a few of them like to write complex equations of chemical processes.
The importance of entertaining experiences
According to modern federal standards, a curriculum subject such as chemistry has been introduced in secondary schools and has not been left without attention.
As part of the study of complex transformations of substances and solving practical problems, the young chemist hones his skills in practice. It is through unusual experiences that a teacher develops an interest in the subject in his students. But in regular lessons, it is difficult for a teacher to find enough free time for non-standard experiments, and there is simply no time to conduct them for children.
To correct this, additional elective and optional courses were invented. By the way, many children who are interested in chemistry in the 8th and 9th grades become doctors, pharmacists, and scientists in the future, because in such classes the young chemist gets the opportunity to independently conduct experiments and draw conclusions from them.
What courses involve fun chemical experiments?
In the old days, chemistry for children was available only from the 8th grade. The children were not offered any special courses or extracurricular chemical activities. In fact, there was simply no work with gifted children in chemistry, which had a negative impact on the attitude of schoolchildren to this discipline. The children were afraid and did not understand complex chemical reactions, and made mistakes in writing ionic equations.
Due to the reform of the modern education system, the situation has changed. Now in educational institutions they are also offered in lower grades. The children are happy to do the tasks that the teacher offers them and learn to draw conclusions.
Elective courses related to chemistry help high school students gain skills in working with laboratory equipment, and those designed for younger students contain bright, demonstrative chemical experiments. For example, children study the properties of milk and become familiar with the substances that are obtained when it sours.
Experiences related to water
Entertaining chemistry is interesting for children when, during the experiment, they see an unusual result: the release of gas, a bright color, an unusual precipitate. A substance such as water is considered ideal for conducting a variety of entertaining chemical experiments for schoolchildren.
For example, chemistry for 7-year-old children can begin with an introduction to its properties. The teacher tells the children that most of our planet is covered with water. The teacher also informs the students that in a watermelon there is more than 90 percent of it, and in a person it is about 65-70%. After telling schoolchildren how important water is for humans, you can offer them some interesting experiments. At the same time, it is worth emphasizing the “magic” of water in order to intrigue schoolchildren.
By the way, in this case, the standard chemistry set for children does not involve any expensive equipment - it is quite possible to limit yourself to affordable devices and materials.
Experience "Ice Needle"
Let us give an example of such a simple and at the same time interesting experiment with water. This is the construction of an ice sculpture - a “needle”. For the experiment you will need:
- water;
- salt;
- ice cubes.
The duration of the experiment is 2 hours, so such an experiment cannot be carried out in a regular lesson. First you need to pour water into an ice tray and place it in the freezer. After 1-2 hours, after the water turns into ice, the entertaining chemistry can continue. For the experiment you will need 40-50 ready-made ice cubes.
First, children should arrange 18 cubes on the table in the form of a square, leaving a free space in the center. Next, after sprinkling them with table salt, they are carefully applied to each other, thus gluing them together.
Gradually all the cubes are connected, and the result is a thick and long “needle” of ice. To make it, just 2 teaspoons of table salt and 50 small pieces of ice are enough.
You can tint the water to make the ice sculptures multi-colored. And as a result of such a simple experience, chemistry for 9-year-old children becomes an understandable and fascinating science. You can experiment by gluing ice cubes in the shape of a pyramid or diamond.
Experiment "Tornado"
This experiment does not require special materials, reagents or tools. The guys can do it in 10-15 minutes. For the experiment, let's stock up:
- plastic transparent bottle with a cap;
- water;
- dishwashing detergent;
- sparkles.
The bottle should be filled 2/3 with plain water. Then add 1-2 drops of dishwashing detergent to it. After 5-10 seconds, pour a couple of pinches of glitter into the bottle. Screw the cap tightly, turn the bottle upside down, holding it by the neck, and twist it clockwise. Then we stop and look at the resulting vortex. Before the “tornado” starts working, you will have to spin the bottle 3-4 times.
Why does a “tornado” appear in an ordinary bottle?
When a child makes circular movements, a whirlwind appears, similar to a tornado. The rotation of water around the center occurs due to the action of centrifugal force. The teacher tells the children about how scary tornadoes are in nature.
Such an experience is absolutely safe, but after it, chemistry for children becomes a truly fabulous science. To make the experiment more vivid, you can use a coloring agent, for example, potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate).
Experiment "Soap Bubbles"
Do you want to tell your children what fun chemistry is? Programs for children do not allow the teacher to pay due attention to experiments in lessons; there is simply no time for this. So, let's do this optionally.
For elementary school students, this experiment will bring a lot of positive emotions, and it can be done in a few minutes. We will need:
- liquid soap;
- jar;
- water;
- thin wire.
In a jar, mix one part liquid soap with six parts water. We bend the end of a small piece of wire into a ring, dip it into the soap mixture, carefully pull it out and blow out of the mold a beautiful soap bubble of our own making.
For this experiment, only wire that does not have a nylon layer is suitable. Otherwise, children will not be able to blow soap bubbles.
To make it more interesting for the children, you can add food coloring to the soap solution. You can arrange soap competitions between schoolchildren, then chemistry for children will become a real holiday. The teacher thus introduces the children to the concept of solutions, solubility and explains the reasons for the appearance of bubbles.
Entertaining experience “Water from plants”
To begin with, the teacher explains how important water is for cells in living organisms. It is with its help that nutrients are transported. The teacher notes that if there is not enough water in the body, all living things die.
For the experiment you will need:
- alcohol lamp;
- test tubes;
- green leaves;
- test tube holder;
- copper sulfate (2);
- beaker.
This experiment will require 1.5-2 hours, but as a result, chemistry for children will be a manifestation of a miracle, a symbol of magic.
Green leaves are placed in a test tube and secured in a holder. In the flame of an alcohol lamp, you need to heat the entire test tube 2-3 times, and then do this only with the part where the green leaves are located.
The glass should be placed so that the gaseous substances released in the test tube fall into it. As soon as heating is completed, add grains of white anhydrous copper sulfate to the drop of liquid obtained inside the glass. Gradually the white color disappears, and the copper sulfate becomes blue or dark blue.
This experience brings children into complete delight, because before their eyes the color of substances changes. At the end of the experiment, the teacher tells the children about such a property as hygroscopicity. It is due to its ability to absorb water vapor (moisture) that white copper sulfate changes its color to blue.
Experiment "Magic Wand"
This experiment is suitable for an introductory lesson in an elective course in chemistry. First you need to make a star-shaped blank and soak it in a solution of phenolphthalein (indicator).
During the experiment itself, the star attached to the “magic wand” is first immersed in an alkali solution (for example, in a solution of sodium hydroxide). Children see how in a matter of seconds its color changes and a bright crimson color appears. Next, the colored form is placed in an acid solution (for the experiment, using a hydrochloric acid solution would be optimal), and the crimson color disappears - the star becomes colorless again.
If the experiment is carried out for children, during the experiment the teacher tells a “chemical tale”. For example, the hero of a fairy tale could be an inquisitive mouse who wanted to find out why there are so many bright flowers in a magical land. For students in grades 8-9, the teacher introduces the concept of “indicator” and notes which indicators can determine the acidic environment, and which substances are needed to determine the alkaline environment of solutions.
"Genie in a Bottle" Experience
This experiment is demonstrated by the teacher himself, using a special fume hood. The experience is based on the specific properties of concentrated nitric acid. Unlike many acids, concentrated nitric acid is capable of chemical interaction with metals located after hydrogen (with the exception of platinum and gold).
You need to pour it into a test tube and add a piece of copper wire there. Under the hood, the test tube is heated, and the children observe the appearance of “red gin” vapors.
For students in grades 8-9, the teacher writes an equation for a chemical reaction and identifies signs of its occurrence (change in color, appearance of gas). This experiment is not suitable for demonstration outside the walls of a school chemistry lab. According to safety regulations, it involves the use of vapors of nitrogen oxide (“brown gas”) that pose a danger to children.
Home experiments
In order to whet the interest of schoolchildren in chemistry, you can offer a home experiment. For example, conduct an experiment on growing table salt crystals.
The child must prepare a saturated solution of table salt. Then place a thin twig in it, and as the water evaporates from the solution, crystals of table salt will “grow” on the twig.
The jar of solution should not be shaken or rotated. And when the crystals grow after 2 weeks, the stick must be very carefully removed from the solution and dried. And then, if desired, you can coat the product with colorless varnish.
Conclusion
There is no more interesting subject in the school curriculum than chemistry. But in order for children not to be afraid of this complex science, the teacher must devote sufficient time in his work to entertaining experiences and unusual experiments.
It is the practical skills that are formed during such work that will help stimulate interest in the subject. And in the lower grades, entertaining experiments are considered according to the Federal State Educational Standards as independent project and research activities.